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We took the 3 night Bahamas trip mid-January, 2015 on the Dream. This was our fourth Disney cruise but our first time on one of the newer ships. We loved being on the Magic and Wonder before and were worried the larger ship might not feel as personal or might feel over crowded.

The Dream was terrific! The ship is definately larger but it wasn't a problem at all. My husband and I love to walk the promenade deck (gotta burn off all those dinner calories!) and doing more stairs was fine for our active family. Animator's Palate is an upgrade from the older ships - even our teens enjoyed talking to Crush. They also liked the sports deck, especially mini golf. The pools were busy but other common areas like the theaters, lobby, shops, etc. never felt too crowded.

Our balcony room was several floors below Cabanas (so noise wasn't a problem) but it was odd to walk through the restaurant in order to access the stairs or deck and doing this could be tricky when food service was in full swing. It just seems like poor planning and very un-Disney like. The overall service was excellent, of course, and we liked our catamaran and snorkle trip in Nassau.

The port of Nassau isn't worth too much time (as many previous reviewers have pointed out) but we really had fun sailing and swimming as a family. One tip - be sure to ride the AquaDuck early and often (consider doing this the very first thing upon boarding, even). It got extremely crowded towards the end of the cruise with long waits. Our kids rode it multiple times with no line on embarkation day. We just packed our suits in our day bags and they practically had the pools and slides to themselves for several hours.

The technology on the ship is fantastic and we loved the moving artwork on the walls. We missed having a "trunk" of shelves in our room - stateroom storage was adequate but there was less than on the older ships. The Walt Disney Theater was absolutely beautiful and one night we sat in one of the small balconies on the side of the auditorium. This provided an interesting view of the stage and our kids liked being able to see down into the floor of the stage where props were raised and lowered, cast members prepped and scenery was moved around. We got an "inside" peek at how Disney creates some of their on-stage magic!

We don't think being on the Dream has ruined the older ships for us at all and we plan to return to whichever ship is going where we want to cruise next.

florsaucedo1696

Registered: August 2014Posts: 1

Review Date: Wed August 20, 2014

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 8

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

CLEAN/NICE STAFF/GREAT FOOD

Cons:

Crowded Pools/Overcrowded ship/overpriced tips

We just got back from a 7 night cruise on Fantasy. I have to say when I book another cruise I will be booking on Magic or Wonder. Fantasy is a nice ship very clean very friendly staff. However Fantasy is very crowded the pools are overcrowded. When we have sailed with Magic and Wonder my kids enjoyed the pools and had a very hard time getting them out. On Fantasy my kids were disgusted from how dirty and small they were they didn't even go in at all. They have the Mickey pool and Goofy pool way too close together which makes it very crowded in the area, everyone seems to be in one small area.

There was 4 of us on the trip. They charged me $366.00 for the week. Yes it was $366.00 which for what we pay for the trip wouldn't that be included in the price? I thought it was a litte much for being a single mother that was just trying to take the kids on an unforgettable trip. I understand a tip is a good thing for their extra time and efforts but that was alot of money since we already pay to have the room cleaned and a good service for dinner.

Other than that we loved it and will keep sailing thru disney but on Magic and Wonder.

On Magic and Wonder i feel its more intimate and personal.

TRACY225

Registered: August 2014Posts: 1

Review Date: Fri August 15, 2014

Would you recommend the product? No |
| Rating: 2

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Inside cabins were nice

Cons:

Food was just okay. Not Autism friendly at all.

Would never recommend this Cruise Line for any families with autistic children. We have two boys who love Disney and our family loves cruises. Those are our two vacations of choice. So we thought this would be an amazing experience and I literally cried the whole time because our boys could not enjoy the children's deck that is dedicated to kids.... and that has all the cool fun stuff that is advertised that the boys wanted to do. PARENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED They simply cannot be left there without us due to their disability and would not go with a cast member. So that ONE day for about an hour that we could "visit" and check it out was very upsetting for me. Our boys LOVED it there but yet after that hour could not and would not return on their own. I think it is ridiculous that parents cannot enjoy all those activities with their kids. This was the worst family vacation we have ever taken. Like I said I cried and was very disappointed that we spent more on a 5 night cruise ($5000) that was a waste of time (for our family) than we did coming up in September at the Disney Parks for 7 nights ($4000). Disney please have exceptions for kids with disabilities such as autism where parents can go to that whole floor dedicated to the kids at ANY TIME during the cruise. I honestly felt ripped off and almost called to get some money back.....it really was not fun and not Disney to us

Dawnmh

Registered: March 2014Posts: 4

Review Date: Tue March 4, 2014

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Wonderful experience!

Cons:

Stopping at nassau

We have just returned from a Feb. 3 night cruise on the Dream. It was our first cruise and we could not have asked for a greater time!

The staff was more than great! So attentive and friendly! The ship was super clean and comfortable. The check in and boarding process was a breeze! I definitely recommend the online check in prior to getting there it makes it speedy. I would have liked someone taking a picture as you walked in and they announced your name, I'm sure my little boy's face was precious, an expression that's a once in a lifetime.

We had a cat 4E room with a larger balcony and it was wonderful! Perfect amt of space. Again, I would love a complete smoke free cruise, it was annoying to try to enjoy the outside and smell smoke from another balcony. I was afraid of the bathroom sizes but they were great! With the split baths, I didn't even notice they were smaller! Loved the storage under the bed too.

Our room host was great! Always there when we needed him or just a friendly face to say hi when you walked by!

I loved that I picked a floor that was not totally all rooms. I think it kept traffic down and it felt very private.

The dinners were good and I did like that the wait staff followed you through the different restaurants, it was very personal. You were seated at the same table number every night which was easy to remember. The food was good in the dining rooms, not excellent but good. I loved the potato soup at Artists Palate and the next night our server even got it for me, it wasn't even on the menu.

Lots of characters to see but the experiences were very short and limited. I thought that there may be roaming characters throughout the day for chance encounters but none of that. Make sure you get in line 15-30 m before the character is supposed to be there bc they cut off the line at a certain point. They have the times spread out during the day but not enough spread. Plus the pirate dressed ones only come out on the pirate day and in limited times. How about characters at the dinners? The longer cruises include a character breakfast, why not a character dinner on the shorter ones?

My only major complaint was the photos. What a rip off! Come on Disney, if I can get all my photopass pics(that are a greater amt of photos) on a disc for less than 175, then the limited amt of photos from the cruise should be affordable. We had two staterooms and we couldn't get the cheapest package (10 photos) bc there has to be someone from the stateroom ordering it in each pic and we had one of just my parents alone! Ridiculous! I paid the bill for both staterooms! I felt really let down by this bc pictures are the only permanently captured memories, at least make them affordable! Very disappointing!

I would definitely do another cruise but the one that stops twice at Castaway Cay. Nassau was a waste!

fluffy30

Registered: September 2010Posts: 79

Review Date: Sun September 8, 2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Wonderful Cruise

Cons:

None

We just returned from our first Disney cruise on the Dream and had a wonderful time. Husband and I sailed with our three sons (16,4,4) and we all agreed it was the perfect vacation. The ship was immaculate and the staff were amazing. From cleaners, guest services, dining rooms to security everyone was helpful and courteous. I was particularly amazed when one of our twins got lost in Cabanas and upon approaching a staff member there was an immediate jump into action and with one call staff everywhere were looking for him. He was found within a few minuets. It was handled with care and professionalism. Disney knows how to take care of every detail and we will be cruising with them again soon.

GregMV

Registered: June 2009Posts: 2

Review Date: Thu June 27, 2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

All

Cons:

None

Just returned on a great cruise on the Disney Dream. Everything went perfect. I don't understand some of the reviews that degrade the ship and crew. I guess if the world doesn't revolve around them, they aren't happy.

Lucijoy

Registered: May 2013Location: Taylors, SCPosts: 3

Review Date: Fri May 24, 2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Beautiful, magical

Cons:

Hard to navigate through Shutters especially later in the trip

Just returned from the Mother's Day cruise on Dream. We had a wonderful experience. Got to the port around 11:30. As Castaway Club members we got right on. My parents were with us--first time with Disney but boarded maybe 5 minutes behind us. Had planned to head to Cabanas but when hubby asked CM for directions she told us to go to Enchanted Garden--Cabanas was full. Great suggestion and perfect timing! After a good lunch we explored the ship and found Vibe for 17-year old son. Got him checked in (they get a Vibe key card to replace KTTW card) and checked out the area--nice pools just for the teens. He enjoyed the first night get acquainted time and late-night dodgeball. He went to Vibe several times but did most things with the fam, mainly with older brother (22). 22-year old was caught in the gap--young singles group is 18-21; not into clubbing and bar. But he found enough to do that he is interested in going again with friends. Glad the boys had each other. Had no problems or delays getting into our stateroom (6150). My parents were happy with their inside stateroom. Although we had different dinner times (by choice due to personal schedule differences), we were still able to do a lot together. Dining was wonderful! Loved all of the MDRs. Animator's Palate on the Dream is greatly improved from the Magic. Nothing but praise for the shows and movies (theater does get cold!) and AquaDuck is fantastic! Great time to go is during port days. I can't think of anything that would have made it better. Looking forward to checking out the Fantasy in September 2014!

wattage

Registered: January 2010Location: Richmond VirginiaPosts: 83

Review Date: Thu April 11, 2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Adult only areas, staff, Castaway Cay

Cons:

Noise in main restaurants

My wife, daughter and I sailed on the Disney Dream on April 4, 2013 for a three day cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay. We had cabin 7517 – an inside stateroom. My wife’s parents also sailed with us. We are DCV members and paid for our cruise with points.

Parking – There is ample parking at the terminal in the parking deck next to the ship. Regardless of where you park in the deck, you are only a short distance to the elevators or stairs. The deck is clean and seemed secure. I was very comfortable leaving the car. Parking is $15 per day for the deck and there is the option to park in an uncovered “preferred lot” for $20 more.

Boarding Process – Once you enter the terminal, you encounter security on the ground floor. Here you put your luggage through the x-ray machine and walk through a metal detector. This process took us a total of about 10 minutes – including waiting in line and screening.

Ticketing/Keys – Once through security you climb an escalator to the second floor of the terminal building and encounter Disney’s embarkation process. You enter a line based on your past Disney cruising experience. This was our first Disney cruise so we joined the longest line . Even though the line was long, the wait was less than 10 minutes to get to a counter agent. Once all of our paperwork was reviewed, we received our “Keys.” With keys in hand, we got in the line to board the ship. This line did take a few minutes because you’re forced to take pictures before boarding the ship.

Once on Board – When you reach the ship, you are asked for your family’s name and they announce your arrival to everyone in the boarding area. Little kids seemed to be impressed, but most adults seemed to think it was a little hokie. The main boarding area is pure Disney – well themed and beautiful. A large statue of Admiral Donald Duck is in the lobby and everyone is trying to get their pictures with Donald. The six elevators in the main area are all crowed! We went further forward on the ship and found another set of elevators that no one seemed to be using and got on one within 30 seconds of pushing the elevator button. Staterooms are not available until 1:30 so I took my daughter to the teen club, and my wife took her parents to the Enchanted Garden for the lunch buffet.

From the time we parked, got out of the car, and walked on board the ship, it was about 35 minutes. We got there right at noon, and my in-laws were there at 11:00a.m. My in-laws said it took them about an hour to board.

Stateroom – Our stateroom was on deck seven closer the bow (forward) of the ship. The signage in the halls is easy to follow and well positioned throughout the ship. Our cabin had a queen bed with a fold out sofa bed and a fold down ceiling bunk bed. We did not use the bunk bed as my daughter used the sofa bed. There is plenty of storage space under the bed and in the closets. The bathroom was large enough so as not to make you feel claustrophobic. The bathroom had a bathtub that was not quite full sized, but was large enough to take a bath in if needed. Towels were very thick and changed every day by our cabin steward.

Food – The lunch buffet in the Enchanted Garden restaurant on Deck two was very good. The lamb chops were the best I’ve ever had!! There is rotational dinning on the Disney Dream – meaning that you eat at a different restaurant every night, but keep the same serving staff. Our first night was in the Enchanted Garden, second night was in the Royal Palace, and our third night was in the Animators Palate. The food was good, not great. The only real complaint I had was the escargot in the Royal Palace was way over cooked and was very tough – life chewing on a rubber ball. I could not eat any of the snails. So I asked for and received another appetizer. Service was excellent when we were at table #63, but when we changed to table #100, it was not as good. The last night, our server pressured us to provide only “excellent” ratings on the comment cards for her service.

Activities and Ports of Call – We stopped in Nassau and at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. We went to the Pirates’ Museum in Nassau, after it stopped raining! The museum is a short walk from the ship and is well worth the time. We all enjoyed the museum’s exhibits –including the life sized pirate ship you get to walk through! Castaway Cay is a lovely beach island. Disney does a good job of providing enough beach chairs and floats for everyone. The only downer about Castaway Cay is the food – it’s bad. Way over cooked and bland - what I thought was a piece of chicken was actually a piece of over cooked fish. Even the hamburgers were over cooked and cold – could not even begin to melt the cheese on the cheese burgers. If we ever go back, we’ll come ashore after having our lunch on the ship. There are current movies shown in the movie theater. We saw “Oz the Great and Powerful” one afternoon. The Aquaduck water ride is not to be missed – it’s a complete blast for all ages. My wife and I rode it twice!! Lines can get long so go in the morning, or after 5:30pm.

Debarkation – The ship docks around 5:30am. Everyone is expected to be out of their cabins by 8:00am, and be off the ship by 9:00am. You have the option of carrying your own luggage off the ship, or having the porters take it to the terminal for you to find later. We chose to carry our own luggage and were we off the ship by 8:00am and in line for customs by 8:10am. Customs took a while as the lines were rather long. We were at our car in the parking garage by 8:45. Parking was $15 per day.

mickeymom5

Registered: September 2008Posts: 58

Review Date: Sat April 6, 2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Everything!

Cons:

small and crowded pools; tons of kids in the hot tubs

This was my family's first cruise. It was everything we dreamed it would be. We had awesome servers: Tony and Guillame. The food was awesome! Castaway Cay was a great place. Our crab won the crab race! Woohoo! We didn't really care for Nassau. We just got off the ship and got back on so we could say we had been to the Bahamas. I wish Disney would stop somewhere else. The Mid-Ship Detective Agency game was a big hit with my six year old. She really enjoyed it. The pools were super crowded; even though it was really too cool to swim. Our stateroom was beautiful (6618)! We loved the verandah. All the common areas were beautiful...we will definitely be cruisin' again real soon!

Fitzboyzmom

Registered: November 2010Posts: 142

Review Date: Mon December 31, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Beautiful Ship

Cons:

The Dream is just beautiful. We were on a cruise that I think was full (a holiday cruise), and unless you were around when a show let out, it did not seem overwhelmingly crowded. There was always something to do. We just loved it and can't wait to go again.

xrayvision

Registered: August 2009Posts: 24

Review Date: Sun October 28, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Large, Beautiful and Clean

Cons:

None

We took our immediate family on a Dream cruise in Dec 2011. We had 3 Balcony staterooms on the back of the ship. Verandahs were large. We all enjoyed the Aquaduck. The dining and meals were wonderful and room stewards were exceptional. The shows were great and we were able to catch some great movies in the theatre as well. Shopping was fun!! Private island, Castaway Cay, is the best private island of any cruise line, in my opinion. It is fantastic!

furgy234

Registered: June 2011Posts: 5

Review Date: Mon September 10, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

great staterooms !

Cons:

no wait staff entertainment

We sailed Aug.29th- 4 night cruise- we were in cabine 8682- it is an accessible cabin and very roomy the back of the ship. This is our 5th Disney cruise and the first on the Dream. The weather was lovely- the staff exceptional. In the past the wait staff usually has a musical presentation at end of the meal- nothing this trip and no explanation. The food did not seem as good perhaps because of the large passenger list. Our dining partners had cruised on other lines and were also disappointed there was no dining room entertainment even on Pirate night. Overall a great trip - with an exceptional job with fireworks!!

disfam4

Registered: May 2009Location: Davis Junction, ILPosts: 9

Review Date: Sat June 2, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 10

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Attention to detail

Cons:

Too much to do!

Sailed a 5 night cruise on the Dream, May 27-June 1 with family of 4, kids 12 and 14. We were happy with every aspect - attentive staff, excellent food quality and variety, the ship was always so clean, and the attention to detail by Disney is unmatched. We had an oceanview cabin which was plenty of room with comfortable beds. My only complaint is that there was so much I wanted to do and didn't have time to try it all. The Aquaduck was a hit with my whole family, very fun. We had two stops at Castaway Cay. Never had a problem finding chairs on the beach and never waited in line for food at Cookies or Cookies Too. Liked that Cookies offered more than just burgers and dogs - there was cajun chicken, salmon, mahi mahi, and ribs too. Evening shows on the ship were excellent. Villians Tonight was probably my least favorite but the qaulity of entertainment was still good. Liked that the menus in the main dining rooms were different each night. We are DVC members so we used points to pay for this cruise, but feel that it was well worth it.

Michigan Mom

Registered: May 2012Posts: 5

Review Date: Wed May 2, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 9

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

Beautiful Ship, Terrific Staff, Great food

Cons:

Way too crowded at pools

We had a wonderful cruise aboard the Disney Dream at the beginning of April Our stateroom on deck 9, 9666, had a verandah and was perfect. Beds were the most comfortable I have ever had on a ship, maybe even any hotel! Stateroom attendant was very attentive and room was always clean. Food was different, not your plain old fare. But, there were always enough choices that my 12 and 15 year olds could find something they liked. Castaway Cay, they best place to relax anywhere. Would go back on a Disney Cruise absolutely!

mindylee847

Registered: April 2012Location: WisconsinPosts: 32

Review Date: Mon April 30, 2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
| Rating: 8

Positive aspects of the product (pros):

fun, relaxing, enjoyable

Cons:

not that much to do

This was probably the best decision we made for our honeymoon. We went on a 4 night Bahamian cruise. Overall, we had a great experience. The cast members were great, the food was generally good if not great, the activities were fun, and I got to nap a LOT.

I didn't really like how few activities were provided for adults. I don't like to stay up til the crack of dawn and I don't work out on vacation... I just take the stairs instead. Disney Trivia was actually quite difficult and if you weren't at least 70, you hadn't lived through those cartoon releases that they asked you about. Match Your Mate was funny and so was adult Dream Quest but that really was only available one night. The Quiet Cove was far from quite so we passed on that and the pool deck is scorching hot without shoes on. I just wish there was a bit more to offer since I'm not huge into drinking either.

I enjoyed the shows and dinners. I definitely was able to relax so that was great. I would do this again... but I'm going to save up and go to Alaska where the port adventures sound a bit more fun!